1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus with a department management function for managing print jobs from respective departments by department and performing printing, a network printer with a department management function employing this image forming apparatus, a department management method of the image forming apparatus, and a department management method of the network printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a printing system in which at least one image forming apparatus and computers provided for each plurality of departments are connected by a network is used. In this printing system, department management for, for example, receiving print requests from the respective departments in the image forming apparatus via the network, performing printing, and counting the number of prints by department is performed. By performing such department management, accounting, guidance for limitation of the number of prints, and guidance for saving of expenses are performed and unregistered departments are prevented from illegally using the system.
As a conventional method of department management, as described in JP-A-2002-236577, a method of managing the number of prints and the like according to department IDs is proposed.
Since such an image forming apparatus is used as a so-called network printer, the image forming apparatus has a communication interface with external apparatuses connected to the network. One IP address is allocated to this communication interface. When departmental printing is performed, department codes corresponding to the respective departments are set on the image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as network printer) side by an administrator. The administrator notifies a user of an IP address of the network printer and a department ID.
The user installs a printer driver dedicated to the network printer in a computer (hereinafter, PC) in a department of the user. In this case, the user inputs the IP address of the network printer notified from the administrator. The user opens a user interface of the printer driver before printing and also inputs the department ID notified from the administrator. After this, the user can sends a print request to the network printer and perform the departmental printing via the network.
Printer drivers dedicated to the computers in the respective departments are installed because a normal general-purpose driver does not have a function of inputting department IDs and it is impossible to input the department IDs. As described above, conventionally, since the department IDs have to be inputted to the computers in the respective departments, the special-purpose printer drivers imparted with the function of inputting the department IDs have to be installed.
When the network printer receives a print job from the user, the network printer determines a department, which has transmitted the print job, according to the department ID received as a part of information on the print job and performs printing. It is possible to perform the departmental printing according to the setting of the department ID by the administrator and the user.
In such a system, the user needs the IP address of the network printer, the special-purpose printer driver, and the department code of the network printer in order to perform the departmental printing of the network printer. As a result, the system is complicated.
When the departmental printing is performed in the network printer, on the user interface of the special-purpose printer driver, the user has to input the department code to be used. However, it is likely that the user forgets to input the department code or erases the department code by initializing setting of the printer driver. In other words, it is likely that a situation occurs in which printing cannot be performed because of an operation mistake of the user.